


Feel It On Your Skin, Feel It In Your Soul

by with_a_j



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Jack Zimmermann's Overdose, M/M, feelings can pass through soul bonds, kind of like a 5+ style story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:15:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29446893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/with_a_j/pseuds/with_a_j
Summary: Jack is 4 the first time he feels his soul mark.All the times that Jack can feel his soul mate through their bond, from childhood to adulthood.
Relationships: Kent "Parse" Parson/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Feel It On Your Skin, Feel It In Your Soul

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into the Jack/Parse or Pimms fandom. It's also my first soul mate fic.  
> Please go easy on me and comments would be appreciated!  
> I love this pairing, probably because there is so much angst and we didn't get a full story for Kent.

Jack doesn’t actually remember clearly the first time that he felt his soul mark. He’d been 4 years old and he had felt a sharp pain on the skin of his upper forearm. He jolted and let out a cry. Alicia had come rushing in from the other room.

“What is it?” Jack asked, tears rimming his big, blue eyes. 

Jack held out his left arm and there in black lettering were the initials KVP. His mom grabbed his arm and ran her thumb over the newly formed letters. 

“Oh, mon beau, it’s your soul mark.”

Jack looked confused, he didn’t know what a soul mark was, he’d heard the term and seen his parents mark, but he wasn’t sure why he had one. 

“What does it mean, maman?” He asked.

“This means that there is someone out there who will love you. Love you forever.”

“Really?” Jack asked, doubting. His 4-year-old mind could only picture his parents loving him forever. 

“Really,” Alicia answered and dropped a kiss to Jack’s head.

When Jack went to bed that night he glanced down at his soul mark, he raised his arm and dropped a kiss onto it, happy that there was someone out there for him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The second time Jack feels his soul mark he’s 10. He’s on the ice, in the middle of a game when he feels a sharp flare near his elbow. The pain causes him to drop his stick, fall to his knees and let out a loud enough cry that the play stops. 

“Jack!” His coach calls, moving to come out onto the ice. 

Jack ignores him and drops his glove and pulls back his sleeve. There’s nothing there, but his soul mark feels hot. His soul mate must be in pain. Jack focuses and he can feel the pain throbbing in his wrist.

“Jack?” His coach asks, kneeling next to him.

“Sorry coach. Soul mark,” Jack replies before grabbing his gloves and getting ready to resume play.

With his focus back on the game, Jack spares one thought for his soul mate and hopes that they are fine. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Jack’s been feeling his soul mark a lot more frequently since becoming a teenager. One night at the age of 15 he feels his soul mark when he is lying in bed reading a book. He slowly feels a warm rush starting at the KVP on his arm. He then feels it tighten in his gut and a rush of arousal flows through his veins. Jack tries to ignore what his soul mate is clearly doing, but the urge gets stronger. Jack reaches into his shorts and takes himself in hand. He strokes himself slowly, matching the rhythm being set by his soul mate. 

Jack comes quickly over his fist, body jerking at the sensation. He relaxes back into his bed, trying to catch his breath. He can’t feel his soul mate any longer and reaches over to clean himself off. As he’s wiping off his stomach he feels a burst of affection and almost like a laugh, as if his soul mate knew exactly what they both were doing. Jack lets out a small chuckle and sets back into reading. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Jack is on the ice warming up for his first practice for Rimouski he can feel his soul mark. It’s itching and buzzing under his skin, has been all day. Jack is familiar with the feeling, anxiety and the desire for perfection, however he’s not used to getting that feeling from his soul mate. 

Jack rubs the mark as he watches the other’s skate around the ice. His eyes catch on a speedy, short player and he huffs out a breath, doubting the skills of someone so tiny. He watches for a few more moments as the player turns on a dime and Jack cocks his head, thinking that those edges may be useful.

Jack ignores the mark for the rest of the practice. He focuses on his play and ignores those around him when he can. When the coach calls for a scrimmage, Jack rolls his eyes as he’s put onto the same line as the short, left winger. 

The game starts and clearly Jack was wrong about the winger. He’s not as good as Jack is at handling the puck, but his speed and ease of getting around others while not losing the puck, does help them keep the puck away from the opposing team. When Jack gets the puck from the winger and scores a goal, he feels elations both from the play and from his soul mark. Jack doesn’t take the time to question why his bond is reacting in such a way as his team mates crash into him for a celly. Jack lets out a laugh and spots the winger who assisted the goal. Jack gives him a nod and the winger nods back. 

The game resumes and Jack’s team comes out victorious. Coach calls time on the practice and the guys all head to the locker room. Jack settles into a stall and begins changing. A pair of feet stop in front of him. Jack glances up and sees the winger in front of him. 

“Kent,” the winger extends his hand, “Kent Victory Parson.”

“I doubt that’s your middle name,” Jack says with a laugh.

“Fine it’s actually Vincent, but ‘Victory’ just sounds better,” Kent responds.

His hand is still out stretched and Jack reaches out to shake it. When their palms touch something flashed and settles within Jack.

“Woah,” Kent breathes out.

“You… KVP...” Jack can’t finish his thought.

“You’re mine,” Kent whispers, no hint of shame, “JLZ?”

“Jack Laurent Zimmermann,” Jack clarifies.

Kent drops into the stall next to Jack and jostles his shoulder. 

“Hockey is going to be amazing,” Kent states with a giant smile.

Jack can’t help but return the smile, because Kent is right, with their soul bond hockey will be amazing.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Jack…” Kent huffs out pulling back from Jack’s lips, but remaining in his strong embrace.

Jack is looking into the flushed face of his liney and his soul mate. He takes in the green tinge of Kent’s eyes, the colour they only seem to be when they are focused solely on Jack.

“Kenny,” Jack whispers, holding onto Kent’s forearm, hand covering the JLZ he knows is embossed on the skin there.

Jack is frozen as Kent’s eyes trace across his face. He watches a smile break out on Kent’s face before the blond leans back in and pushes his lips back against Jack’s. Jack pulls Kent closer and deepens the kiss, their tongues touch and both groan in their throats. As Kent shifts onto Jack’s lap, Jack can feel the tight arousal and warmth sparking from his soul mark.

Since meeting Kent, Jack has only had more instances of feeling his soul mark. It has been torture on some nights. Thinking of Kent and seeming to know that Kent is thinking of him too, but the two of them getting off separately. Jack has wanted to put his hands on Kent, but he knows that they can’t do anything in public, not if they want to make it the NHL. 

But tonight, sitting tipsy on Jack’s bed in his billet house after sneaking in after the party Jack couldn’t stop himself, he needed to kiss Kent, needed to know what it felt like and he isn’t disappointed. 

As Kent shifts further against Jack’s lap, grinding his hard cock against Jack’s, Jack can feel tight arousal and then a warmth sparking from his soul mark.

“I feel you Zimms, can you feel me?” 

“Yeah Kenny, I can always feel you,” Jack says, which wasn’t the full truth. He really could only feel the strong emotions from Kent.

However, in that moment Jack thought that it felt like he could feel Kent all of the time. In reality that was what Jack wanted, to feel Kent all the time. To Jack, Kent’s emotions were pure, true and simple, nothing like the twisted emotions that Jack usually felt. He grabs Kent’s arm and presses a kiss to the soul mark at the top of his forearm.

“Just focus on me Zimms.”

“Always Kenny.”

Jack flips Kent onto his back and pushes against Kent. Jack let’s his thoughts clear and focuses all his attention on Kent and the dual sensations of arousal coursing through his body.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack is panicking. He’s breathing hard and he can’t focus.

“Zimms?” He hears someone call, but he can’t respond. He wants to call out, but he can’t get the words past his laboured breathing.

“Jack!” Kent says and Jack can feel a pair of hands grasp his thighs.

Jack looks up and zones in on Kent’s face. He feels his panic doubling as Kent tries to figure out he’s going to help Jack.

“Jacket, pocket,” Jack is able to blurt out. 

Kent goes for it and he comes back with a pill bottle and hands it to Jack. Jack takes a pill and waits for his breathing to begin to even out. Kent drops down next to him and drops his head on Jack’s shoulder. Jack can feel their twin panic begin to mellow out. He doesn’t know what to say, all he can think to do is run his fingers through Kent’s hair, something that he does to calm both himself and Kent.

Kent whimpers at the sensation. 

“Feeling better Zimms?” Kent breathes out and Jack can barely hear him.

“Yeah Kenny.” Jack leans over and drops a kiss on Kent’s head and from his soul mark he feels Kent’s anxiety of what happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack wakes up in a white room, he can hear the beeping of machines and he knows that he is in the hospital. He’s disappointed in himself, he’s angry at everything and everyone and he hates that so much of his life has now been fucked up.

He’s staring out of the window, trying to ignore the beeping, ignore the voices in his head, the hushed sounds of other people walking around and he’s trying and failing to ignore the insistent buzzing of his soul bond. He’s lost in his thoughts when he hears a knock at the door frame. He looks up and Kent is standing there wearing a black Aces jersey that should have been Jack’s.

“Zimms I… How are…Wh…” Kent stammered out, unusual for someone who always seemed to know the right thing to say.

“What do you want Kent?” Jack snaps.

“I wanted… needed to see you. To check on you, to…”

“Why? To come gloat that you took my place? To rub it in that I’m not good enough?”

“Zimms I’m not, that’s not, you’re my…”

“I’m your nothing!” Jack shouts.

Kent takes a step back at the force of Jack’s anger. His face turns red and his eyes darken. Jack can feel heat and fury through his soul mark, his hand twitches and he wants to cover the mark, but he suppresses the urge. 

“Please Zimms just…”

“Get out Kent, get the fuck out!”

Kent takes an aborted step forward and his arm twitches, before stopping and turning and leaving the room without looking back. When Jack regains his focus, he feels it. The aching emanating from the KVP and settling into his chest. He fights the sob crawling up his throat. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It’s been nearly a year since Jack has felt anything significant from his soul mark. He’s been working on blocking out Kent, working on ignoring anything related to his past or time in the Q and the distance of Kent in Las Vegas helps too. Jack lies to himself and says that he feels better when he can’t feel anything from Kent, but he knows that there is a part of him missing, it’s like a constant ache. Jack can ignore it for the most part, especially when he is around his teammates on SMH, but every once and a while Jack will acknowledge and give into the ache, like pressing a bruise.

The last time that Jack had felt something from Kent, after kicking Kent out of the hospital, was the night of Kent’s first rookie game. Jack had sat in his room feeling the anxiety building as the hours ramped up to puck drop. The feeling left Jack itching for pills that were no longer there. Eventually the feelings had settled into calm and then elation and Jack knew that Kent had won his rookie game. Jack had gotten little sleep that night. 

Tonight, though the feeling that bursts through nearly has Jack jumping up in joy. It shocks him into sitting up in bed. It’s late, looking over at his clock it’s well past midnight. The feeling is pride, elation and something undefinable that lets Jack know that the Aces won the Stanley Cup. Jack gets out of bed and grabs his laptop to look for live footage of the game.

The video loads and for the first time in years Jack sees Kent. He’s been avoiding watching anything involving Kent, but he can’t forget how handsome Kent is. Watching Kent on the ice Jack can see the pure joy in his face and Jack feels a spike of envy, followed by pride and happiness for Kent. On the screen Jack can see Kent with the cup over his head and his left arm buckles for a moment. Kent’s eyes begin to swivel around, before he shakes his head and passes the cup on to the next person. 

Jack shuts off the laptop. He climbs back into bed and tries to once again block out Kent. He knows that he’ll struggle to block out such a strong emotion and so he let’s it run its course. At least it’s a good feeling.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack is lying in bed in Georgia when a pain like no other shoots through his arm.

“Fuck! Ken… Fuck!” Jack hisses grabbing his mark. 

“Jack – what, what’s wrong?” Bitty asks sitting up next to him.

Jack shakes his head. The pain is still stinging through the mark. This is nothing like the pain when Kent broke his wrist back when they were 10 or when Jack broke Kent’s heart when he was in the hospital. This felt like Kent was trying to dig his soul mark out of his arm, trying to sever the bond. Jack wills himself not to send reciprocal pain through the mark.

Eventually the pain subsides almost as quickly as it had begun, like a curtain dropping on a stage. Kent must have learned to manage sending strong feelings through the bond. Jack is hesitant to look at his mark, worried that it will be missing. Jack can’t decide what is worse seeing the mark still there or not seeing it at all. Jack lifts his hand and looks down at the mark. It’s still there, but there is a silvery scratch, like a scar, through the K. 

“Kenny, what did you do?” Jack whispers.

He jolts at the hand landing on his arm. He had forgotten that Bitty was still there with him.

“What happened Jack?”

“I don’t know Bits, something’s happened to Kent’s soul mark.” Jack answers.

Bitty peers down to where he knows the KVP rests, signaling that Jack belongs to someone else, but Jack quickly covers the letter with his sleeve. He doesn’t want to shut Bitty out, but also he doesn’t want a reminder that both he and Bitty belong to other people.

Jack aso wants to call Kent, wants to know what’s happened. However, he knows that he can’t do that. He settles back onto the bed and pulls Bitty into his arms, but his mind is still focused solely on Kent. 

Hours later they find out that Kent and his A, Jeff Troy, had been in a car accident. It wasn’t serious, just minor lacerations to everyone involved. Jack knows that’s why his mark is now split. Jack tries to send a comforting thought to Kent, he hopes it gets through.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack’s laughing with his team mates as they pass around the cup. It’s the moment that he’s dreamed about, waited for since he was a child. 

When he looks into the stands he sees his parents and he offers them a huge smile. He’s being pulled into a hug by Tater when he feels a burst of warmth through his mark. For a moment Jack forgets where he is and he looks around for a familiar smirk and changeable eyes.

Jack can’t help but smile and send thoughts of thanks through his bond, hoping that Kent gets the message.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack’s standing outside of Kent’s home. He got his address through Tater’s connections, but now he’s wringing his hands trying to bring himself to ring the bell. 

“You can do this Jack,” Jack motivates himself and finally presses the bell. 

“Jack?” 

“Ken-t,” Jack stammers out, “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Can I?” Jack motions behind Kent.

Kent must be in shock because he shuffles out of the way and lets Jack in, who passes by and drops his bag and takes off his shoes. Kent watches, not saying anything, but being this close to his soul mate Jack can feel his confusion. He runs his hand over his soul mark and he sees Kent flinch at the action.

“What’re you doing here Jack?” Kent asks, shifting on his feet. 

“I don’t know, I just needed to see you,” Jack answers honestly

“You needed to… Fuck Jack you haven’t ‘needed to see me’ in years, and every time that I came to see you, you threw me out.”

“I wasn’t ready Kent. I wasn’t ready to be reminded of the past.”

Kent huffs out a laugh and turns to walk into his living room. He drops onto a couch and Jack follows suit. 

“’Reminded of the past?’ You wanted to forget everything Jack, you wanted to forget me.”

“Like I could forget you Kent. You were always there, under my skin, haunting me.”

“Like a ghost? Well I guess that’s fitting, we were dead to each other. But now years later you come here to what Jack, tell me that what we had was something out of a horror film?”

“No, Kent, well in a way what we had was terrifying. It terrified me. It terrified me that I wouldn’t be able to do this,” Jack waves his hand vague motion trying to convey that he means a career in the NHL, growing up, just living, “Couldn’t do this on my own, couldn’t be a whole person on my own,” Jack rushes out, “I needed to sort all this out on my own, not be tied to you all the time.”

Kent shakes his head and looks at Jack with huge, disappointed eyes. 

“But I couldn’t,” Jack continues, “You’re always there Kent. Even when I was trying to shut you out, I knew you were always there and even when all I could feel was an ache or like I had been hollowed out, you were still there. It was a comfort for me, knowing you were always there, would always be there.”

Jack takes a breath and glances up at Kent, who is staring at him in disbelief.

“Fuck Jack! You shut me out, you cut all ties, your bond felt so far away and for months when I did feel it there was nothing but rage and pain and hate,” Kent spits out. “That’s all I could get and then nothing. It was like you had died. And then one day you were there again, but it was worse than not having you at all. I could feel you, but you wouldn’t let me be there for you.”

Kent runs his hands through his hair, mussing up his cowlick, “Sometimes I wished that I could get rid of the mark. I thought about getting it removed professionally, better to be hollow and half a person, than live knowing I was always being shut out. I wanted to get over you.”

It comes out as a whisper and Kent looks at his arm. He brushes his fingers over the soul mark. Jack knows that he has to respond.

“Sometimes I wished that too,” Jack starts and Kent looks up, his eyes wet, “but then I would feel you, something would slip through, and I… I knew I wasn’t alone. I knew out there was a part of me that made it. I know it doesn’t make sense or make what I did right, but at the time, after the overdose things were just twisted and I needed to separate my feelings from yours.”

When Jack finishes he looks up again at Kent. The blond is staring at his soul mark. He can see Kent’s eyes are red-rimmed and he can feel a twinge of something that he can’t name yet. 

“When I was finally able to be open again, it felt like you were too far away for me to reach. You’d made it Kenny and I couldn’t be what you needed and vice versa. And it’s taken time but I realized that even though I didn’t need you Kenny, I do want you.”

At that Kent’s head springs, up and he stares at Jack. Concentrating Jack can feel a twinge of hope. 

“Jack,” Kent says and goes to stand in front of Jack.

“I think I’ve always wanted you and I think that’s what made it hard, mixing up need and want,” Jack responds, standing up to meet Kent.

“And now? Can you tell the difference?” Kent asks.

Jack grasps Kent’s arm and covers his own initials with his hand.

“Yeah Kenny.”

Jack bends down and Kent rushes up to meet him. Their lips slot together and Jack cups Kent’s face, deepening the kiss. Kent groans and pushes Jack back onto the couch before clambering onto his lap. Jack laughs into the kiss and Kent ducks his head and presses kisses to Jack’s neck. Jack runs his fingers through Kent’s hair, which causes the blond to moan against Jack’s neck. Jack grips harder and pulls Kent up to look into his changeable eyes. He offers a bright smile and he can feel Kent’s happiness radiate through the mark as Kent returns the look. 

Jack pulls Kent back in for another kiss and uses his other hand to grab Kent’s hips and pull them flush against his, pushing their ever-hardening cocks against each other. Kent indulges in the kiss and slowly grinds back against Jack.

“Bedroom,” Kent whispers and pulls himself off of Jack’s lap, offering a hand to help the larger man up. 

Jack grasps Kent’s hand and follows his soul mate to his bedroom, squeezing Kent’s hips and dropping kisses on the back of Kent’s neck. Kent turns in Jack’s grip when he reaches the bed and sinks down, pulling Jack on top of him. Jack goes willingly and braces himself so as not to crush Kent under his weight. He stables himself over Kent and traces his eyes over Kent’s face, Kent smiles back and Jack can’t help but crush his lips against Kent’s.

The pair kiss and grind against each other, before stripping each other. When Jack has Kent naked underneath him, he grabs Kent’s arms and pins them above Kent’s head. Kent stares up at him, love and lust pouring out from the changeable eyes in equal measure. Jack drinks in the look. He also glances up at Kent’s pinned hands and traces his eyes down the bare skin of his arms. His eyes land on the crisp lines of his initials, broken through the middle by a thin silver scar. Jack traces his hand down the arm and rubs his thumb over the letters, before dropping a kiss and pushing all emotions of love towards Kent.

“Zimms,” Kent whispers brokenly.

Jack lifts his head and gives Kent a shy smile, before leaning down and capturing Kent’s lips in another kiss. Kent thrusts up into the kiss and both men moan in unison. With one of his arms free Kent reaches between them and firmly grabs Jack’s cock. Jack gasps at the feeling and pumps his hips forwards into the waiting cradle of Kent’s palm. Kent loosens his grip to allow his own cock to slide in next to Jack’s. At this Jack brings his own larger hand down between them and twines his fingers through Kent’s and circle both their cocks. 

Soon both men were panting hard. Jack’s lips were loosely pressed against Kent’s, the two of the practically sharing air. Kent licked up into Jack’s mouth and the two men pumped their hands harder as the combination of sensations from their touches to transferring of feelings through the soul bond built up. Moments later Jack arched up as he came over his and Kent’s joined hands. Jack spasming against him and the tightened grip pushed Kent over the edge seconds after. 

Catching his breath Jack drops his forehead against Kent’s and he closes his eyes as he feels their hearts begin to slow. He can feel Kent tracing his fingers up his back and down his arm. Kent slowly pulls Jack’s arm out to drop his own kiss against his initials on Jack’s forearm.

Jack lifts himself off of Kent and drops to the side. At that Kent stands from the bed and Jack can’t help but watch as the muscles in Kent’s back and ass bunch as he stretches. Kent throws a look over his shoulder before walking into the ensuite to grab a cloth to clean them. With that done Kent settles back down on the bed with his back up against the headboard. Jack shuffles over and reaches out for Kent’s mark.

“I don’t know how to do this Jack,” Kent whispers, “You cut me out and now you want me back? I know what happened between us was fucked, and we both fucked up, but I gotta know that you won’t leave me like that again.”

Jack takes a moment and traces the JLZ on Kent’s arm before responding. 

“I know Kenny. I know it’ll be hard and it’ll take work and apologies, but I want this. I want you, I want you forever.” Jack says this with all the love and conviction he possesses and pushes that through the bond. 

Kent gasps at the emotion and when Jack looks up at him, there are tears lining his eyes. Jack sits up and places a hand on Kent’s cheek. 

“It’s been hard to get here Kenny, but it’s us and I think I knew deep down it was always going to be us.” 

Jack drops a kiss onto Kent’s lips and pulls the blond man down into his arms for a nap.


End file.
